Omega World
by jennytork
Summary: Colony Atlantis AU. The discovery of a resource that could help Atlantis thrive leads to a dying world. Can Astadal and its people be saved?
1. The Beginning Of The Matter

CHAPTER ONE

C8M-N7 was otherwise known as Astadal, and Teyla's people had traded with them centuries ago. Athosian oral tradition spoke of a welcoming world of lush abundance.

The Satedans had also traded with Astadal, a mere handful of decades ago. Ronon's father had been one of the Specialists sent on the final expedition, and Ronon, himself, had been scheduled to go on a mission there – but then the Wraith had decimated Sateda.

Ronon told of a world encased in ice, victimised by the Wraith, with few resources and not very welcoming to outsiders.

Ronon and Teyla's stories agreed in one important point: Astadal's water held a very special element: A very small small, nonsentient creature lived there. No matter what form the water habitat took, this creature purified it just by its presence.

The Athosians did have some Astadalian water – frozen from long ago – and consented to allow Rodney to examine a tiny sample. Rodney found that the creature's respiratory system cleansed the water of impurities, including its own waste.

The sample did not hold enough of the creatures to build a viable breeding population. Such a population would be vital for long-term purification.

With Atlantis no longer able to depend upon Earth's assistance, due to her personnel mutinying when the IOA double crossed them, the new hydroponic gardens – just to name one department among many – would benefit greatly from such a resource.

 _~*~ COLONY ATLANTIS ~*~_

AR-1 had just entered the Gate room, when John stopped in his tracks, snapping his fingers. "Be right back," he said, spinning on his heel and jogging back out of the room, turning left.

Rodney blinked as Ronon dashed after John. "Of course," he gasped. "A winter world – we'll need the extra protection a Jumper affords!" He turned to face Teyla. "Now, why didn't I think of that?"

"Because that is in John's job description," Teyla teased. "Not yours." At his incredulous look, she chuckled, "Yes, Rodney. I do listen to every word you say."

Rodney shook his head. Before he could react further, something attached itself firmly to his left leg. _"What_ the-!" He managed to bite back the rest of the curse as he saw what it was. "Maddy! What – you – you're not supposed to be in here!"

"I'm bored, Uncle Mer-Rod," she sighed dramatically, using the name only she called him. "Can we go do something?"

"What?" he gasped. "Madison Renee Miller, I am about to go on a business trip! No, I can't go do something with you!"

"But I'm _bored!"_ Her lower lip jutted out as her eyes flashed with anger. "I want to -" She gasped as she was bodily lifted off of Rodney's leg.

"Settle down, Miss Miller," Richard Woolsey said as he sat her on her feet and curled his fingers gently but unbreakably around her wrist. "As soon as your uncle goes on his... trip... we will find something to capture your interest." He nodded at Rodney and Teyla as he led the six year old from the Gate room.

Rodney shook his head again. "I don't think I will _ever_ understand that child," he breathed as Jumper One rose smoothly to hover before the Gate.

As Rodney and Teyla boarded and buckled in, the dialing sequence began. The Gate engaged with a powerful _WHOOSH!_ and John glided Jumper One gracefully through.

The Gate had barely shut down behind the Jumper than a powerful explosion went off directly underneath the Gate. The blast wave caught the rear of the Jumper and shot it upwards, sending the Lantean craft unexpectedly tumbling through the air, end over end.

(Part two coming soon)


	2. Defensive Diplomatic Mode

**CHAPTER TWO**

 _"HANG ON!"_ John bellowed. He could have wrestled with the controls, pretending this strange connection did not exist. He could have – but he didn't.

John lay his palms flat on the console. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

Seeing that, Rodney – whose artificial gene was cloned directly from John's – did the same in the co-pilot's seat.

 _Straighten out,_ both thought hard, though John added an affectionate, _honey. Come on, get your balance._

The tumbling slowed, and John reacted swiftly. He nudged the Jumper upward, out of the tumble and out of danger

"What the hell was _that?"_ Rodney yelped, opening his eyes.

"Some sort of explosion," Teyla replied.

"Let's find out," John said, angling the Jumper around to face the smoking Gate.

"Is it intact?" Ronon asked, the thought of being forever stranded on one world chilling him to the core.

"It's intact," Rodney reported. "But what we flew through looks like it was set to destroy the Gate."

"What?" Teyla all but yelped, genuine horror fitting her voice. "...Why would someone deliberately-"

"At the risk of repeating myself," John said, gliding the Jumper smoothly toward the ground. "Let's find out." He nodded toward the forward window.

Rodney frowned, squinting against the glass. "Are those... people?"

"Put on the sunglasses I packed for you," John ordered as he landed the Jumper. "They'll help. Yeah, they're people," he finished. "Question is, are they friendly?"

"Yes," Teyla answered at the same time Ronon replied, "No."

John took a deep breath. "Okay, then. Defensive Diplomatic Mode." He triggered the ramp and stood. "Let's do this."

With John taking point, the team descended the ramp into the cold air to find a small contingent of natives standing in a loose semicircle facing them. Each held a pike or a spear, but it gave the team a measure of hope that the weapons were uniformly pointed at the sky and not at them.

"Teyla," John began, but she interrupted him in a low voice.

"No, John. Ronon's people were the most recent contact. He should speak for us."

John nodded, and Ronon stepped forward. He held his hand out, palm up, before he cupped it over his own heart. "We greet you in peace, Adalians. We come from the City of the Ancestors. I am Specialist Ronon Dex of Sateda. This is Teyla Emmagen of Athos, Colonel John Sheppard and Doctor Rodney McKay, both from Atlantis."

The oldest native nodded, and a young man stepped forward. "I am Polan," he said. "Tell us why you are here – at the end of all things?"


	3. The End Of All Things

**CHAPTER THREE**

John frowned, even as he took a step forward. "Polan – what do you mean by 'the end of all things'?"

"Answer me, and I shall answer you," Polan replied. "Why are you here?"

Teyla stepped forward. "We arrived seeking trade. You water contains something that will benefit our people."

Polan looked at Ronon, who nodded. "We were hoping to come to an agreement," Ronon added, spreading his hands. "But..."

"But we have nothing to ask of you in return," Polan began.

The oldest of the party stepped forward. "Yes, Polan, we do." It was the voice, more than anything else, that marked her as female.

Polan blinked at her. "We do? What can we possibly ask of these people? We are _perishing,_ Koba!"

"That is what we can ask of them. Visitors, aid us to survive this, and our entire water system is yours to use, for all of time."

Rodney frowned. "That's a pretty generous deal. But didn't you just try to blow up the Gate?"

Polan nodded. "To keep our burial place from being desecrated." He shot a wry look at the Gate. "Clearly, it did not succeed."

"And praise the Ancestors it did not!" Koba said. "For now there is hope at the end of all things!"

"Yeah, about that," John said in his lazy way. "You said you were going to tell us what that was all about."

Koba nodded at Polan, who sighed and spoke. "Our world is ending. Our people have not responded in several turns of the moon, and we fear we are the only ones left. There was no growing season this year and only a small one the year before. We exist on game and stores – and both are growing scarce. When they end-"

"So does your people," Teyla said softly.

"No growing season..." Rodney squinted at the sky, then took John's arm and tugged him a couple of steps away. "They're right."

John frowned. "What-"

"I'll have to scan from the Jumper," Rodney interrupted. "But I think this system's sun is in its last contraction phase."

John hissed. "Nova?"

"More than likely," Rodney sighed. "But after Doranda, I'm really not comfortable predicting a tie frame or even saying a hundred percent this is what's going to happen."

"Understood," John said. He thought for a moment, then added, "So – this just became a rescue mission."

Rodney nodded. "The water – the people... I'd like to somehow salvage the Gate, too."

John walked back over to the Astadalians. "Sir – ma'am – we have much to discuss."


	4. Plans And Plots

**CHAPTER FOUR**

John and Rodney took off in the Jumper to do a planet-wide scanner they returned, they found Polan and Ronon standing shoulder to shoulder, waiting for them.

"Well?" Ronon asked.

"Nothing," John replied with a heavy sigh. "Polan's tribe is the only pocket of survivors on this entire planet."

Shaking his head, Polan breathed something softly that the translator rendered as a curse. "We feared as much. But... we had hoped not."

The Jumper suddenly rose slightly, and Rodney's voice boomed from it. _"Polan, with your permission, I am bringing back two, maybe three people to help me. I have a hunch about the water, how to save it, but we need to test that hunch. So, I'm bringing back help."_

Polan tilted his head in permission, and the Jumper flew back toward the Gate, leaving John standing there.

Once the Gate had shut down, Ronon tilted his head, indicating they should return to the tribe. As they walked, Ronon said, "Got the people squared away."

"Oh, yeah?" John asked, looking over at Polan. "What did you decide?"

Polan smiled sadly. "We are going to survive by becoming part of the Athosian Confederation. Teyla has assured Koba there is plenty of room and cropland on New Lantea for all."

"Teyla's right," Ronon said. "And their intermarriage policies will allow you as a people and a culture to survive."

John smiled at him as he told Polan, "And if anyone would know about that? It's Ronon. His people were all but wiped out – there are only a handful of survivors. Less than your tribe."

Ronon confirmed this with a sad nod, and Polan returned it with a smile. "I have more hope now than I did when I woke today."

"There you go," John smiled.

 _SGA COLONY AU SGA COLONY AU SGA_

Two hours later, John's radio chirped. "Sheppard."

 _"We're back,"_ Rodney said.

"Great! You brought friends, I'm hoping?"

Rodney grinned as he glanced to the co-pilot's seat. "I've got Radek and Miko with me. We're going to run a small-scale experiment, then ramp it up to large-scale."

 _"What experiment?"_ John replied. _"What hypothesis are you testing?"_

"We're going to see if the Adastalanian creature can survive in New Lantea's ocean. If it can -"

However Rodney was going to finish that sentence was lost forever, when a sneeze suddenly erupted from an empty bench seat in the Jumper's cargo hold.


	5. Lessons For A Stowaway

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Rodney pointed at Radek. "Start the experiment." He jerked his head at Miko. "Check that out, I'm landing."

John frowned as the Jumper suddenly turned and landed outside the village. "...what the..."

Inside the Jumper, Rodney stood up and turned toward the back of the Jumper – and froze. "Okay, what in the _he-"_ He broke off, swallowed hard, and tried again. "What are you doing here?"

Arm still held by Miko, from where she had been pulled from underneath the seat, Madison blinked up at him, eyes wide and innocent. "I was bored," she said, her lower lip jutting out. "I needed something to do and you looked like you were having fun!"

"Maddy, Uncle Rodney is _working._ How can you not under..." He groaned and keyed the back, pulling off his winter jacket and wrapping it around her. "I don't have time right now for this." He took her hand and hauled her off the Jumper, passing her off to a startled John. "She's _bored,"_ he informed John, putting all the considerable contempt he could muster into that word. "So she thought it would be cute to stow away. I have to fly over the ocean, so I can't focus on her. Thanks." Without waiting for an answer, he ran back to the Jumper, which took off seconds later.

"Well," John said, looking at the little girl in his arms. "I guess you can help me, then."

Her face lit. "I can? How?"

He walked back to the settlement. "You can help us get these people all packed up."

"Packed up?" she asked as he set her down inside. "Why?"

Koba stepped forward. "We can no longer live here, child." She looked at John. "You would bring your children to a world this harsh?"

"He didn't bring me," Madison snapped. "He didn't know. I brought me. I was -" She broke off, looking past Koba.

A little girl, close to Madison's age, turned her head toward the high voice and looked sleepily at her. This child's eyes were dull and her cheekbones had begun to stand out from the rest of her face.

Madison's hand crept into John's, suddenly shy. "...Uncle John," she whispered, eyes huge. "...what's the matter with her?"

Teyla lifted her and cradled her close. "This world is dying, Madison," she said softly. "And its people with it. That is what we are doing here. We are trying to save the people. And your being here makes it hard for us to focus on that."

"I..." she began, but Teyla interrupted in that same quiet but firm voice.

"You are here because you craved something to do." She nodded toward the little girl. "Is your boredom more important than her life?" With that, she set Madison on her feet and stroked her hair once, before going to help Polan mediate the few disputes that always seemed to break out at times like this.

Madison drifted over and sat beside the little girl. "Hi," she whispered. "I'm Madison."

The child smiled. "I am Lorya."

"Are... Are you excited about the move?"

The smile faded. "I am frightened. This is the only home I know."

"I understand," Madison said. "We left mine a few months ago to move to Atlantis. I can't ever go back, either."

Lorya took her hand. "Do you want to?"

"Sometimes," she said. "You'll sometimes want to come back here, too. But as long as your family's with you, it'll all be okay."

Lorya turned her tired eyes toward the people who were busily organising their settlement. "I will remember this."

Madison squeezed her hand. "Hey, do you like stories?" Lorya smiled and nodded, and Madison began to tell her about Rapunzel.

John smiled and touched his radio. "Sheppard to McKay. Maddy is under control. How are things on your end?"

 _"Promising,"_ came the reply. _"Preliminary tests are positive. Small-scale experiment underway now. If those results pan out, we need to head back to Atlantis with an ice core, melt it in the ocean and see what happens."_

"Sounds like a plan. When you're ready to head back, we'll get Maddy ready to go back with you, so you don't have to face Jeannie's wrath."

 _"Thanks, John. Seriously – thank you. I'd rather not face that. Will contact when we're ready. Out."_ And he cut the link.

John smiled and turned to Koba, who was still standing beside him. "What is it?"

"Doubts," she admitted. "If our creatures can not survive in your oceans – will you abandon us to share the fate of our world?"


	6. Answers And New Beginnings

_CHAPTER SIX_

John studied the older woman's eyes. Seeing only sincere concern there, he said, "Koba, if your creatures can not live in our ocean, we will still do everything in our power to save your people."

She nodded. "When do we begin the Move?"

"As soon as Rodney-" John smiled as the Jumper came gliding back. "Very soon, now."

"I shall prepare my people." She smiled and moved off to do just that.

Nobody emerged from the Jumper, so John walked up to it. A quick knock to the door and Radek opened it, putting a finger to his lips. John nodded and walked in – somehow completely unsurprised to find Rodney engrossed in what looked like an argument with someone on the other end of his radio.

"Hobbson," Radek whispered to John. "Markindale. And Oren." At John's frown, he added, "Xenobiologists and a xenozoologist. Conferring with them about the experiment."

John nodded. Then something struck him. "Then why didn't he bring _them..."_

"Because I trust these two implicitly," Rodney said, turning in his chair. "We've worked together enough I don't have to explain every little thing. We've got a problem."

"How big of a problem?" John asked.

"Remember how the small-scale experiment indicated that the Astadalanian creature removes impurities from the water – including its own waste?" When John nodded, Rodney said, "According to the next scale up, part of those impurities include altering the pH and salinity of the water it's in to make it like its native water."

"And this is an issue because?" John asked at the same time Radek's eyes narrowed and he swore.

"Right," Rodney said, pointing at Radek. "Much of Lantea's aquatic life is dependent on the salinity and pH of their ocean remaining within certain parameters. If we introduced the Astadalanian creature, we would be causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem."

John swore softly and rubbed the back of his neck. "So...what do we do?"

Rodney tapped his radio. "That's what we're trying to figure out. So why don't you head out and get the Astadalians ready to roll, while we figure out what to do about the creature."

"Sounds like a plan. Be ready to go in half an hour. We're transporting the first load back on the Jumper." Forestalling Rodney's question, he said, "There's some that can't walk. We're porting them."

Rodney nodded. "Half an hour." Then he turned back to his conversation.

John got off the Jumper and jogged over to a waiting Polan. "We are going in thirty minutes. The ones that can't walk, we will transport by Jumper. Then the rest of you can walk through under your own power."

Polan smiled and nodded. "And thus, you give us our dignity."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," John replied, but he took Polan's outstretched hand. "But you're right."

 _SGA COLONY AU SGA_

One hour later, Sergeant Campbell's voice rang out. "Offworld activation!" he called as the Stargate flared into life. "AR-1's IDC!"

"Open the Iris," Woolsey opened, and smiled at a nearly-visibly vibrating Jeannie Miller. "I'm positive she's safe, Mrs. Miller. Doctor McKay didn't have to inform us she had stowed away."

"No, but I'm grateful he did," she snarled. "Now I know I just have to kill my daughter, and not my brother as well!"

Familiar by now with McKay-level hyperbole, Woolsey merely chuckled. Very softly – he was not a stupid man. The last person he wanted to get on the bad side of was a furious mother.

Jumper One glided through and settled gracefully to the floor of the Gateroom. John lowered the back and instantly medical personnel swarmed.

Moments later, the first of the four stretchers was off-loaded. Two bore heavily pregnant women. One bore an older man with no ability to move his legs.

The fourth bore Lorya's frail form. Carson walked on one side of the stretcher, promising her mother that with a few good meals and some therapy to rehabilitate her to being vertical again, the severely ill child would be back on her feet. Her main issue, it seemed, was malnutrition. Many others in the tribe suffered this as well, but Lorya's body seemed to take it hardest.

On the other side of the stretcher walked a visibly concerned Maddy Miller. She held Lorya's hand close, talking to her as if to a best friend. Jeannie took a step forward, but Woolsey grabbed her arm. "Don't separate them," he advised. "Not yet. It looks like your child learned some empathy."

Jeannie looked after them, then turned back to Woolsey. "Too bad it took her risking her life stowing away to do it. I'll leave them be – for now. But she and I are going to deal with this." He released her arm, and she stalked after the stretchers.

"I'd expect nothing less," Woolsey sighed after her. He watched while the Gate shut down and reactivated, dialing Astadal again so the evacuation could begin. He watched the Jumper gracefully raise and glide back through the wormhole, which blinked out behind it.

Rodney and Radek had disembarked – Miko had returned with John, and Teyla and Ronon had remained on Astadal – and the scientists jogged past Woolsey with barely a nod, heading for the Infirmary and their required checks so they could return to work.

Woolsey sighed. "...when did I lose control around here?" he asked the air as he walked over to Campbell. "I am assuming the evacuation is about to begin."

"So am I, sir," Campbell smiled. Then his panel beeped. "Offworld activation – it's AR-1 from Astadal."

"Open the Iris, Sergeant," Woolsey said with a smile. "Let's bring our new friends home."

 _SGA COLONY AU SGA_

Within the next two hours, traveling in batches of twenty, one hundred and fifty-eight people walked through the Gate to Atlantis. Last of all came the Jumper carrying the leaders of the tribe, the Lanteans, and several ice cores.

As John guided the Jumper back to the Bay, Teyla made introductions. "Commander Richard Woolsey, this is Koba and Polan, the leaders of the Astadalians."

"Welcome to Atlantis," Woolsey said. "Are these all your people?"

"Yes," Koba said with a firm nod. "Astadal is now uninhabited."

Ronon stepped forward. "Commander, Teyla and I are going to oversee the move to New Athos and we will ensure they settle in well."

"Agreed," Woolsey said. "Your people have our friendship, Koba."

"And yours have our gratitude," Koba said. "Without you – my people would have died out. Thank you."

Nodding, Woolsey watched them walk away. He decided to go see how Rodney was coming along with the research on the creature.

John joined them just in time to hear that though the creature could never be released into the ocean, it was still perfect for use in the controlled environments of Atlantis's desalinisation and hydroponics systems. Its population would be monitored and when it got beyond a certain level, the overflow would be removed and used for trade, much as the Astadalians had done for centuries.

Once they knew which ecosystems it was safe to introduce into, that was. The ice cores would remain frozen for study, and the creatures inside would remain in suspended animation.

Koba and Polan supported this, and agreed to share any data they could.

There was some disagreement, however, on the best way to harvest Astadal's Gate – or, more exactly, how to get it back to Atlantis once it had been harvested. This discussion went back and forth for two more days as Campbell dialed Astadal every twelve hours so astrophysicists could monitor the levels of light and solar radiation from the instruments left behind on the planet.

This disagreement suddenly became a moot point when – no matter what Campbell or Rodney tried – the seventh chevron to Astadal simply would not lock.

"That's it," Rodney sighed after a fruitless two hours of trying. "There's just nothing there to lock onto. Astadal's gone."

Silence slowly spread as it hit everybody in the Gateroom just how close to the edge this rescue had been.

 _END_


End file.
